When a work vehicle is operating on a downhill slope, the gravity acting on the work vehicle functions to drive the transmission and the engine, particularly when operating on steep slopes or for normal downhill slopes with high vehicle loads. Since conventional engines do not include a mechanism for providing an active-negative torque, there is no active control over the engine speed when gravity begins to drive the engine during downhill operation. As such, in many instances, the only option for regulating the speed of the work vehicle as it travels downhill is to control the operation of the transmission.
Unfortunately, conventional control systems lack the ability to properly regulate the operation of the transmission while accounting for fuel consumption of the engine so as to maintain a desired fuel efficiency for the work vehicle as it travels downhill. Accordingly, an improved system and method for controlling the speed of a work vehicle during downhill operation would be welcomed in the technology.